Manga Review: Kodomo no Kamisama

^{PART 35 of 52 ONESHOTS in 52 WEEKS
三簾真也の『コドモの神様』 “Kodomo no Kamisama” by MISU Shinya}

Shinya Misu is an author with a penchant for comedy-romance manga. All of his early series spanned just a few volumes, but he found success in 2022 with the manga No More Love With the Girls, a rom-com about a love triangle between high school friends. Published weekly on Kodansha’s manga platform Magazine Pocket, the series recently surpassed the milestone of 100 chapters.

However, the author debuted with a very different type of story. His premiere oneshot, titled Kodomo no Kamisama (which translates to ‘Children’s God’ in English), featured in Shounen Sunday magazine in the summer of 2015. The story—about a playful God only children can see—is a warm and moving tale, and stands distinct within author Misu’s bibliography.

Makoto is a young child who enjoys playing with his friends at a local shrine. The group welcome in Yukari, a girl their age who is seemingly always hanging out nearby. Time passes and the children grow older, and one day Makoto’s friends begin acting as though Yukari never existed. It is then that Makoto discovers Yukari is a God bound to the shrine, who can only be seen and remembered by children. Vowing never to forget her by always remaining his childish self, Makoto begins visiting the shrine every day with photographs, showing the lonesome Yukari images of the world beyond the shrine.

There’s certainly a degree of predictability to Kodomo no Kamisama, not only within its own narrative, but also from its place among the many other kami-featuring manga (which take inspiration from some eight million Shinto Gods). Yet it remains engaging through it’s proficient pace and sweet disposition, with the inevitability of it all rather adding to the manga’s bittersweet quality.

The story touches upon the innocence of childhood and the strength of memory; not to an especially challenging standard, but nonetheless to an extent which is poignant and reflective. The characters are sufficiently defined for a 34-page story, with the central Makoto characterised movingly through his relationship with Yukari. Come the end, Kodomo no Kamisama is especially heartrending, owing much to author Misu’s empathetic and keenly wistful storytelling.

The artwork is striking, with clean, bold lines. The characters are frequently illustrated in close-up, with author Shinya Misu not really taking a significant step back until nearer the end, where he reveals some larger portraits and beautifully drawn postcard-esque scenes. The photograph motif is well implemented, both in the narrative and the art, with the story establishing a strong emotional context to character Makoto’s images, which bookend the manga in the most soul-stirring of manners.

Kodomo no Kamisama is a strong first work, and one of the most moving I have read within 52 Oneshots in 52 Weeks, with author Misu’s skill and attentiveness very apparent. He returned to Shounen Sunday magazine with the oneshot Nonchalant Fuuko-san in 2020. The story, about a girl who is unbothered in the face of any adversity, displays more of the author’s comedic proclivities, and is complete with some impressive page spreads.

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